Hit the Deck
by TowersofIllium
Summary: This is a series of stories, about NCIS, each chapter/story inspired by a tarot card from the major Arcana. May contain spoilers and almost every character in NCIS. It should be a pretty interesting read. Please review! Much love.
1. The Devil

_Disclaimer: "Dinozzo: Okay Boss, here's a theory. What if, the author thought that she actually owned anything from NCIS? Gibbs: *Gibbslaps Tony on the back of the head*" Yes, you get the picture, I didn't create, nor do I own anything from NCIS._

_Author's Note: Okay, for this set of short stories, I am doing something new. I am taking one tarot card randomly out of my deck, and using that card and its meaning as a prompt. Pretty cool, huh? Please note that I am only using the Major Arcana. By the time all is said and done, I hope to have written a story using each Major Arcana card as a prompt. If I get reviews and they are favorable, I will consider continuing the series using the Minor Arcana. Another, final note, in these stories, anything goes. Example, I am a big Kate/Ari fan, so that may pop up. Just be prepared for anything. Also, ratings may change with each individual story/chapter. Now, I will shut up and get on with the story._

**Card # 1; XV - The Devil**

Kate looked at the clock for the sixth time since the hour had begun, but only two minutes had passed, making the time now 16:20. The office was almost completely deserted, except of

course for Team Gibbs. Well, half of it anyways. Tony and McGee were down in the evidence locker, checking the inventory on a cold case. Gibbs was at his desk, presumably catching up

on paperwork long past due. It was a Friday afternoon and Kate was positively itching to leave work, especially so since her and Abby had made plans for a girl's night, to take place that

very evening.

The week hadn't been any longer than usual, nor any more challenging than normal. Overall, it had been a very quiet week, tedious; one might even venture to say. Cold

cases to peruse and file, case reports to finish. The only excitement that Kate had experienced that week was when the new probationary agent, Special Agent McGee, had spilt Gibbs'

coffee on Tuesday morning. Kate forced herself to hide her smile when Timothy almost passed out from the near anxiety attack that Gibbs' glare had sent him into.

Other than that rather minor incident, Kate had to admit to herself that the week had been downright boring. She was dying to escape the tedium of the office and let loose this

weekend. Although, with her straight-laced, Catholic upbringing, letting loose for Kate normally meant that she might go to a bar and dance with a stranger, or possibly go rock climbing at

the new indoor sports facility that had recently opened about four blocks down from her apartment building.

That was the main reason that Kate had planned a girl's night with Abby. Kate knew that she desperately needed some excitement, some new experiences, and maybe even some

ones, after the week she had gone through at work. Kate also knew that Abby was the perfect person if one wanted a bit of excitement in their lives. No matter how menial or average

the activity might seem, Abby always seemed to bring her unique sense of Abby-ness to the situation, therefore guaranteeing and experience that would be anything but ordinary.

The phone on Gibbs' desk chirped, breaking Kate out of her reverie quite suddenly.

"Okay…Good work, Abs…What?..Why?...Okay.", Gibbs placed the black receiver back into its cradle gently.

Kate spoke up, a bit too eagerly, "What did Abby want, Boss?"

Gibbs narrowed his eyes and gave Kate a look that in no uncertain way reminded Kate of a Papa bear about to swipe at a particularly annoying cub.

Gibbs fixed Kate with this look for a solid half minute before he slowly spoke,

"Abby called to say that she had received and logged all the forensic results on all active cases for the week."

Gibbs pursed his lips.

"Ahh.", replied Kate.

Gibbs continued, his mouth still pursed, but his eyes holding that unique, cock-eyed grin of his,

"She also requested that I let you off work a little early so that she could abduct you for a night of, and I quote, 'Girl Stuff'".

Again, Kate replied, "Ahh". Just then, the elevator doors dinged open, causing Kate's neck to whip in the direction of the sound and causing Gibbs to casually shift his gaze to the metallic

box. Abby flounced out of the elevator and almost bounced into the bullpen, wheeling her small, bat-plastered, rolling backpack all the while. Abby stopped abruptly in front of Gibbs' desk,

her wide eyes staring expectantly at his countenance, which was bent over a file, in mock ignorance of Abby's presence. As Abby stared, Kate quickly filed the cold case she had been

fruitlessly looking over and reached into her desk drawer to pull out her purse and her Sig, which she clipped onto her belt.

Then two, expectant, pairs of eyes bored into Gibbs. Under the double pressure, Gibbs finally broke.

"Alright, alright, you can go.", he said, with a full grin and a hint of a chuckle.

"Really?", Abby and Kate inquired in unison.

"Yes,…now, Shoo!", and with a quick flick of his hand, the two women knew they were free for the weekend. Both the girls could barely contain their excitement as they took the ride

down to the parking garage in anticipatory silence.

It wasn't until they were strapped into Kate's silver BMW that Kate realized that she hadn't asked Abby what she had planned for the thrilling night ahead. Kate paused and asked,

"So Abby, where to first?"

A look of pure deviousness crossed Abby's features as she replied,

"WELL, before we do anything, I've been needing to get my tattoo touched up, so I guess we're off to the tattoo parlour first!"

Kate's mouth fell open in shock, but soon it curved up into an indignant grin.

"Why, you…" And she didn't get any further.

Still devious, Abby gave Kate directions to the tattoo shop as they pulled out of the NCIS parking lot. Twenty minutes later, the two women pulled up in front of Living Canvas tattoo

parlour. Abby had her seat belt off almost instantly, but Kate hesitated with her own buckle.

"Oh come on Kate, it's not like I'm going to MAKE you get a tattoo yourself, we're here for mine, remember?"

Kate looked doubtful for a moment, but finally let her seat belt snap back with an, "Alright" Kate and Abby walked through the oaken front door and into a tiled office space that Kate had

to admit to herself, looked more sterile than some doctor's offices. When the two women had walked through the door, a bell had rung, causing a bearded, heavily inked secretary in a

blue bandana to look up and grin almost instantly at seeing Abby.

"Well, Miss Scuito, it's nice to see you again, here for your touch-up?"

With a perky nod of her head, Abby replied to the inquiry,

"Same here Steve, wanna get started?"

The supposed secretary rose from the wooden office desk and started walking towards the back of the shop, towards a row of black leather chairs and threw over his shoulder,

"Alright then, if you'll just follow me."

Which wasn't necessary, as Abby was already halfway across the shop. Kate awkwardly stood at the front of the shop for a moment before Abby realized that her friend was no longer

following her and turned around to find Kate still at the front of the shop. Abby stopped and cocked her head, pursing her lips as she did so.

She quickly motioned with her hand for Kate to follow. Kate hesitated but quickly found herself following her goth friend towards the somewhat foreboding chairs.

Steve was already sitting on a leather stool by one of the chairs, snapping on latex gloves, apparently the "secretary" was also an artist. Abby reached the chair, sat down, and quickly

stripped off her black t-shirt. Kate's eyes momentarily widened, until she realized that Abby was simply making the huge tattoo inked into her back accessible to Steve. Apparently the

giant crucifix on her spine was the candidate for the touch-up. Steve wiped down his needle gun, inserted a new needle, dipped the tip into ink and inked away. Abby was only getting

the outline of her tattoo redone and the work didn't take long. Through the whole session, Abby chatted and laughed with Kate and Steve.

As Kate observed Abby, she realized that tattooing couldn't be as painful as she had thought, Abby was smiling and laughing for God's sake!

Soon, Steve was finished with his work, although Kate could see through the shop windows that opened up to view the street that night had begun to fall.

Steve rubbed lotion into Abby's redone tattoo and covered the artwork with plastic before the forensic scientist pulled her black t-shirt back over her head.

"So, whatcha' think, Kate?", Abby asked.

"About what?" Kate naively replied.

"About tattooing, silly!" Abby exclaimed.

"Well, I mean, it doesn't seem near as painful as I always thought it was." Kate hesitantly admitted.

"Plus, it looks pretty neat on your back." She added.

"Hmm." Abby commented. "So, what would you say to getting one?" Abby innocently inquired.

"WHAT!" was Kate's immediate response. It was then that Kate paused, and reconsidered. Her first response had been to instantly reject the idea of permanently

marking her skin. What would her mother think?

But with the pause, Kate thought, screw her mother!

Her entire life, she had been straight-laced and proper, it was time for some excitement, goddammit!

And the pain seemed bearable. But what about work? Well, if she got the tattoo in a place covered by her work clothes, it should be no problem.

Plus, Abby wasn't the type to blab to the entire office about something she knew Kate would prefer stay between the two of them. And so after a short pause, Kate shocked Abby, (no

small feat) and replied,

"Hell, why not?"

Abby's mouth hung open for a moment before she recovered and squealed, embracing Kate.

"Oh my god, Kate, I never thought you would actually agree!"

Abby quickly paused and turned to Steve,

" Steve, are you up to it, is it too much trouble?"

Steve serenely smiled and replied, "A small tattoo will be no problem."

Abby turned back to Kate and asked,

"But what do you want? This is permanent, you know."

Kate pondered for a moment, looked at Abby and said,

"How about a fox? I've always liked foxes, they're so cute."

Abby quickly pointed in Steve's direction and said, "Talk to him, he's your artist."

Kate asked, "Steve, is that okay, is it too much?"

Steve replied, "Of course not, it's fine, I have the perfect design, but where do you want it?"

Kate thought for a moment, bit her bottom lip and got a positively devious look on her face. She glanced at Abby who said,

"Oh you she-devil! Go ahead!"

Kate looked at Steve, closed her eyes, gulped, and said,

"Okay, how about my rear?"

Steve had to hide his grin by wiping down his tools again and screwing in a new needle.

He turned to Kate and said, "Okay, if you'll just lay down on the chair and ahh, pull down your pants to where you want the tattoo, I'm ready to begin."

Kate looked at Abby for reassurance, and the goth gave Kate the biggest grin and thumbs-up in the world. Kate pulled down her pants and lay down on the chair. Steve sat down on the

stool and pulled his ink palette close when Kate sat up momentarily and made one last request,

"Umm, I'm ready, but could you make the fox silver?"

Steve replied, "Sure, ma'am."


	2. Chariot Pt 1

**Chapter 2 : The Chariot, Part 1**

"_Take it, Caitlin. My men are well trained. They will kill or capture your president and mine."_

"_Your president?"_

"_I'm Israeli. Mossad."_

Her fingers were still limp when Ari let the cell phone slide from his fingers and into hers, but Kate's mind was already thinking, planning out what to do next. Ari's surprising revelation had

snapped Kate out of her shocked reverie. Kate couldn't deny that the dead, blonde terrorist laid out on the ground not seven feet from where she sat disturbed her. Terrorist or not, it

was still the first time Kate had ever seen someone killed in cold blood, but Kate made herself push past the shock. She was a Federal Agent, she had a job to do.

Kate shut the phone with a sigh. The first call she had made was to one of her old contacts at the Secret Service, Agent Harris. No sooner had Kate explained the situation than Agent

Harris had hung up on her, no doubt to alert the rest of the outfit and to thwart the latest threat to the President's life.

The second call had been to Agent Fornell. As much as she detested the bastard, she knew that the Secret Service would need back up. Kate had expected much the same response that

she had received from Agent Harris, but surprisingly, after Agent Fornell had yelled out the situation and a few commands to his team, he began to talk to Kate.

"Agent Todd, are you ok?"

Kate was taken slightly aback, but she answered that she was fine. Fornell spoke again.

"Have you called NCIS yet?"

Kate replied that she hadn't, she had judged the threat to the President to be of more pressing importance. What Fornell said next astounded Kate.

"Do it now. Jethro would kill me if he knew that I knew you were unharmed and I didn't immediately inform him."

With that, Fornell hung up the phone, fueling Kate's suspicions that maybe Gibbs and Fornell played a little nicer than they made it out.

Kate opened her phone again, intending to call NCIS, but before she could hit the speed dial button, Ari gently slid the phone from her hand and closed it. Kate's eyes snapped up to meet

Ari's, stunned and asking for an immediate explanation. Ari smoothly laid the phone down on the table and calmly returned Kate's piercing stare.

"Relax, Caitlin. Do you need to call NCIS so soon? I'm sure Agent Fornell has already assigned one of his agents to inform Gibbs of your whereabouts. Doubtless, your boss has already

sent a team speeding this way, if not himself personally."

Kate began to protest, but Ari cut her off.

"Caitlin, ten minutes will not matter. Please, relax. Enjoy the Chardonnay. As I said before, I don't like to drink alone."

Kate gave him a withering stare.

"No? I thought not. Oh well, perhaps some other time."

Ari stood, pocketed Kate's cell phone, and in a few smooth steps was standing by Kate's right shoulder. Kate looked up at Ari questioningly. Ari held out his hand in invitation. Kate took

his hand, surprised at the roughness, but also, the warmth. His large hand engulfed her own. With that, Ari placed his other hand on the small of her back and gently helped her rise from

the bench. Once Kate was standing, Ari began to lead her back to the house at the front edge of the property. He released her hand, but his other hand remained at the small of her back

for the duration of their brief stroll.

Before long, the pair had reached the porch of the house. Kate turned her back to Ari as she ascended the very first porch step, the small of her back already cooling in the absence of his

hand. She slowly turned to face him and was met with his curious gaze.

Kate's eyes narrowed slightly. "What?" She directed the inquiry at whatever lay unspoken behind Ari's probing gaze.

"Ah, it is nothing, Caitlin." Ari let his gaze wander to Caitlin's right as he spoke again.

"Just contemplating."

"About what?" Kate asked, with the barest hesitation.

Ari s moved closer to Kate, placing one foot on the step that Kate currently stood on, and leaned close to the brunette agent's ear before he answered in a breathy whisper.

"Whether or not I was right about you."

Kate couldn't bring herself to look into Ari's face when it was this close to her own, gazing instead at a large oak tree across the field to her left. Ari could hear his heart hammering away,

the blood rushing past his ears, but he had to strain to hear Kate's whispered response, "And what did you decide?"

Ari brought his hand up, and with his right index finger, he gently pressed it against Kate's chin, whilst turning her head to face his gaze. Ari looked up from under his long, black lashes

and in a voice so quiet, Kate almost didn't hear over her own deafening pulse, answered.

"I still don't know."

And with that, Ari's hand fell to his side and he ascended the last three steps to the porch, quickly picking up his motorcycle helmet, which he had placed by the top step earlier in the day.

He turned on his heel, smoothly descended the four steps, but paused as his feet reached the springy grass that grew in verdant patches around the house. Unhurried, he turned to face

Kate, strode towards her, stopping when he was close enough to reach out and touch her.

"I almost forgot."

Ari slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out Kate's cell phone, holding it between his index finger and thumb. Kate's eyes followed Ari, but her body was still frozen as Ari reached

around and dropped the phone into one of Kate's pockets. Ari stepped back, preparing to turn and walk towards the barn, and said, almost as an afterthought,

"Goodbye, Caitlin."

Ari promptly turned on his heel and strode towards the barn that held his beloved motorcycle. Once he reached the barn, he almost hurried inside. Looking up at the barn windows that

let bright sunlight stream in, Ari sighed, feeling constrained. He quickly grasped the hem of his long-sleeved black shirt and tugged upwards, revealing a short-sleeved t-shirt, black, of

course, underneath. He discarded the long-sleeved shirt to the side and put his helmet on.

He threw one of his legs over his motorcycle, straddling the machine with a grace that belied his size. Ari turned the key in the ignition, and as the machine roared to life, he flew out of

the barn. When he had rounded the last curve in the long, dirt drive that ran through the country property, Ari subtly turned to take one last look at Kate. He saw her standing on the

porch, with her cell phone to her ear. Good, he thought, as he sped out onto the highway, defying death at speeds illegal on the Autobahn.

When Kate was sure that Ari had reached the barn, she squeezed her eyes shut, thinking about the encounter that had occurred between Ari and herself just minutes before. She

chastised herself, for letting Ari get to her, for being attracted to the tall, dark, and she would admit it, if only in the safety of her mind, handsome terrorist. Her conscience berated her

with that good old Catholic guilt that Kate had been familiar with since childhood, but at the thought, "terrorist", her conscience paused and new thought entered Kate's head.

Terrorist? No, what was it that Ari had said? Mossad. It was a branch of the Israeli intelligence network. Whilst undoubtedly still a bastard, it sunk into Kate's consciousness for the first

time since the picnic table that Ari was not a terrorist.

Kate's thoughts flickered with joy for a moment before Kate paused, stunned at her own feelings. Yes, Ari wasn't a terrorist, in fact, he could be considered an ally, but still, he had shot

Gerald's shoulder clean through! He had kidnapped her, and even if it had all been a ruse, she had still been rudely tied up, slapped, threatened with her own gun…Kate paused in her

thoughts again. Because none of those things had been in Ari's plan, in fact, he had seemed quite displeased with those incidents. The internal battle within Kate's mind raged. The side

against Ari came back with another point.

Ari had shot Marta in cold blood.

He had murdered the woman in a split second, with no hesitation. Sure, she had been a terrorist, and a threat to his mission, but still, he had shown no remorse in taking her life.

Kate suddenly snapped back with a practical thought. Marta's body was still lying under the oak tree. It would need to be autopsied. Kate chastised herself for not calling NCIS the instant

that Ari had begun to walk towards the barn, it wasn't like her to let feelings, emotions, cloud her practical judgment when there was still a job to be done. Kate pulled her phone from

her pocket to call NCIS. Kate snapped open the phone to see a small piece of paper folded once to fit between the folds of the phone. Kate stared at the slip of paper for a moment

before she quickly plucked it from the keyboard, not wanting the wind to blow the scrap away.

Kate put her phone back into her pocket and slowly unfolded the slip of paper. In neat script, Kate read,

"_Kupin Khavia, 1356 Monroe Av., 8:30 PM"_

Kate knew that the note must be from Ari, but decided to examine it later. She refolded the scrap of paper and slipped it back into her pocket. She hit the speed dial for NCIS with Abby's

extension.

When Abby picked up, Kate's shoulders relaxed, releasing tension that Kate didn't even know they'd been holding. Abby of course squealed in delight to hear Kate's voice, knowing that

she was safe. Abby, whether from the excitement or too many Caf-Pows, proceeded to tell Kate as fast as she possibly could, that Gibbs and the rest of the team, four other agents were

on their way to Kate's current location.

When Kate asked how they had found out, Abby explained that once Ari had turned Kate's phone back on, the GPS chip had started transmitting again, allowing Abby to track Kate's

position. Abby also explained that five minutes after the phone had been turned back on, NCIS had received a call from the FBI, and in a historical moment of agency cooperation, the FBI

had informed NCIS of the entire situation with Marine One and of Agent Todd's safety. When Abby mentioned the FBI, Kate remembered her reason for calling and said, "Abby, will you

please send Ducky and Palmer out with Gibbs, too? Ari shot one of the other terrorists."

After Abby had assured Kate that Ducky would be on his way, she added, "Gibbs and the rest of the team took off as soon as I gave them your coordinates, but the property is about

thirty minutes outside of D.C., so it still might be awhile before they get there."Kate was about to respond when she saw a dark blue dodge charger round the corner onto the dirt drive

and speed towards the country house.

Kate's eyes went wide with shock as she responded to Abby, "Abby, I think your calculations must have been off, or else Gibbs just broke the land speed record."

Abby laughed and after making sure that Kate knew just how glad she was that she was alright, she hung up. Kate snapped her phone closed as she watched the car approach the

house. She realized that she had been frozen to her spot on the stairs. Kate put her phone in her pocket and began to run towards the car.

Kate hadn't managed to get twenty feet down the dirt drive when she was met by the dark blue charger. The car screeched to a halt and Gibbs jumped out of the driver's side of the

vehicle, followed closely by Tony and McGee. All three agents had their weapons drawn as they ran towards Kate, but Kate could see that they were all rapidly looking around the

property for possible armed terrorists.

Gibbs was the first to reach Kate. He lowered his Sig and diverted his gaze from the barn to Kate's face. In a breathy, desperate tone, Gibbs asked, "Kate, are you alright?" Kate nodded.

Gibbs nodded towards the house, "Grab your weapon Kate." Kate was almost positive that all of the terrorists had left to take down Marine One, but she knew that if one had stayed

back and they didn't clear the house and the barn, someone could wind up with a sniper's bullet in their head. Kate unholstered her Sig.

Tony and McGee caught up with Gibbs, both looking relieved to see Kate unharmed. Gibbs nodded towards the house as he barked, "Tony, McGee, take the back, Kate, you and I'll take

the front."

The four agents ran towards the house, and all simultaneously burst through the front and back doors. They cleared the house in seconds. They quickly moved to the barn, and in less

than a minute, had cleared the property. As the team walked out of the barn and back towards the house, they saw another blue charger speed down the dirt drive, the now

unnecessary backup. Tony and McGee holstered their Sigs and ran to meet the other agents while Kate and Gibbs walked towards the large oak tree that grew between the barn and the

house.

Gibbs saw Marta lying on the ground and went for his gun a split second before he realized that the blonde terrorist was dead. Gibbs looked towards Kate for explanation. Kate explained

what had happened. Marta had drawn a gun on Kate, Ari had talked her out of it and taken the gun, but when Marta had found out of Ari's betrayal, he had shot her. Gibbs nodded at the

end of Kate's account, no emotion showing in his stony features.

"Well, call Ducky, have him and Palmer bring the truck out here."

"I already did, Gibbs."

Gibbs nodded and turned away from Marta to face Kate. For the first time since his arrival, Gibbs noticed Kate's bleeding lip. Gibbs gently cupped Kate's chin in his hand, his thumb grazing

across the swollen flesh.

"What happened?" Gibbs asked. His tone was clinical, but his eyes were full of sincere concern.

"One of Ari's goons slapped me on the way here."

Gibbs nodded, making himself a mental note to find out which one had slapped Kate before the terrorists were taken into custody by the FBI. Gibbs snapped out of his thoughtful reverie

to find Kate looking at him, waiting for her next order.

Gibbs looked at Kate, and in the gruffest tone he could manage, said, "When we get back to NCIS, you have the rest of the day off, Agent Todd. "

Kate began to protest, but Gibbs stopped her.

"I do not need to see you again, you will go home."

Kate sighed, resigning herself to Gibb's indomitable will.

Tony, McGee, and the other NCIS team, which included Special Agents Pacchi and Balboa, met up with Gibbs and Kate, forming a collective group. Tony looked at Gibbs and asked,

"What now, boss?"

In true Gibbs fashion, Gibbs responded with a gruff, "We wait for Ducky."

Tony's eyes narrowed in confusion before Gibbs jerked his head towards the body lying underneath the oak tree.

"Ahhh." was the senior field agent's only response.

The two teams waited on Ducky and helped process the crime scene when the M.E. and his assistant arrived. The process went quickly with so many agents, and in the interim between

loading the body and waiting for the crime scene measurements, Ducky stitched Kate's lip up in the back of the truck. Soon the crime scene sketches were done and the whole detail was

on its way back to NCIS headquarters.

When the teams arrived back at NCIS, the second backup team was relieved and sent back to their case. McGee had been sent down to the lab to help Abby extract the information from

the various laptops recovered from the terrorist's hide-out. Back in the bull-pen, Tony, Kate, and Gibbs all sat at their desks, writing case reports.

After half an hour, Gibbs, without looking up from his paperwork told Tony to go down to the lab and help Abby and McGee. When Tony protested on the grounds of his technological skills

Gibbs simply glared at him, and in a wise act of self-preservation, Tony hurried off to the lab.

Gibbs went back to doing paperwork but it wasn't' long before he paused and said, "Agent Todd, I thought I told you to take the rest of the day off."

Kate looked up from her case report and said, "But Gibbs, I feel perfectly fine."

Gibbs grabbed the coffee cup that sat on his desk and tried to take a swig, but found that the cup was empty, he threw the paper cup into his trash can before rising from his chair and

walking around to the front of his desk as he responded, "I don't recall asking you if you felt 'perfectly fine', I recall telling you to take the rest of the day off."

Kate began to protest, but Gibbs cut her off as he began to walk out of the bull pen.

"Kate, I'm going to get coffee and if you're still here when I get back, then you won't feel 'perfectly fine' for much longer."

Kate sighed as Gibbs walked towards the elevator. She closed the case she had been working on and filed it away. Gibbs smiled as he heard her open her drawer and take out her purse

while he waited for the elevator.


	3. Chariot Pt 2

**Chapter 3: The Chariot Part II**

Kate pulled her purse out of the bottom right desk drawer. She also pulled her keys from the drawer and dropped them into her pocket. Kate grabbed a few case files and stowed them in

her large purse. Gibbs could order her to go home, but he couldn't stop her from working. Kate had grabbed her purse and was walking from the bull pen when, almost as an

afterthought, she went back to her desk drawer and clipped her Sig to her belt.

Kate stepped into the empty elevator and on the ride down to the parking lot; she considered picking up dinner instead of cooking. She would never admit it to Gibbs, or anyone else for

that matter, but the events of the day had left her drained, physically and emotionally. Secretly, Kate was glad that Gibbs had ordered her to go home.

The sun had begun to set when Kate strolled across the parking lot and the Special Agent quite enjoyed seeing the Navy Yard bathed in deep gold and orange tones. Kate approached

her car quickly. Gibbs had called her in early that morning, and a small compensation had been a parking spot close to the building. Kate reached into her pants pocket and drew out her

car keys.

As she did so, a small scrap of white paper fluttered to the ground. Kate stooped to pick up the slip of paper. Suddenly, the afternoon flashed through Kate's mind, and she remembered

the note Ari had left folded in her phone.

Kate quickly walked the few paces left to her car, slid into the driver's seat smoothly, and started the car. As she drove out of the Navy Yard, her eyes were on the road, but her mind was

focused on the message that the slip of paper had contained. Kate recalled the words written on the piece of paper;

"Kupin Khavia, 1356 Monroe Av., 8:30 PM_"._

Kate reasoned that the first part of the message was an address, located somewhere in downtown D.C., and the name must belong to some sort of establishment. She assumed the

second part of the message was a meeting time, and since no date was specified, the rendezvous was probably set for that very night. Kate could only presume that Ari had slipped the

piece of paper into her phone, he'd been the only one in possession of it between the time that she'd called the FBI and later, when she'd called Abby. Kate had the who, she had the

where, she even had the when, but as she drove towards her uptown D.C. apartment, the why still eluded her.

Oh hell, screw the "why", thought Kate. If Ari was involved, she knew she'd probably never figure out the true reasons behind anything that went down. Kate knew that the man was an

enigma, wrapped in a mystery, and always wrapped in some sort of striking black outfit.

As Kate pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex, she realized that she was in a mighty fine predicament. She had a specific time and location where Ari would most likely be

present. Kate knew she should probably call Gibbs immediately and tell him, but something stopped her. Kate wondered if it was curiosity, some sort of strange fascination with this darkly

charismatic man that made her fingers pause above the speed dial button.

Kate knew that if she told Gibbs, he would undoubtedly put her under cubicle arrest at NCIS. Then he'd call in the rest of the team to take down Ari. Or more likely, he would go to the

meeting alone, and try to take Ari down himself. Kate knew that neither of those scenarios would play out well, for anyone.

Kate began to consider a new course of action. A course that did not involve informing Gibbs of this little arranged appointment. She knew that in the best-case scenario, she could wind

up gathering some valuable intelligence about the elusive Mossad officer, but Kate paused when she thought about the worst-case scenario. What if the whole meeting was an ambush?

Kate's logic screamed "trap!", but her gut told her that Ari wouldn't try something like that, at least not so soon after the events of the afternoon. And even if Ari did try something, Kate

reasoned, she'd always have her Sig for back up.

Kate continued to sit in her car for the next few minutes, trying to convince herself with logic that the idea of meeting Ari was crazy, maybe even dangerous, but she knew that her mind

was already made up. Kate looked at her watch. It read 6:04 PM. Good, thought Kate. That left her about two hours before she would need to leave, the address of the meeting place

was only about 15 minutes away, but downtown traffic could be a nightmare, even in the late evening.

Ari sat on the far side of the second-floor porch, somehow subtly scanning the space for a familiar Special Agent from behind the day's newspaper. Ari put the paper down altogether

when he realized that the woman he'd been looking for was already half way across the porch and that he hadn't noticed her the moment she'd stepped out into the warm night air.

Ari appraised Kate's figure as she strolled towards him. Her legs were encased in a light pair of blue jeans that Ari would've brushed off as too casual for Caitlin Todd to wear. The navy

colored tank top also struck Ari as surprisingly dressed down for the Federal Agent. Where was the professional appearance that he had come to expect from his, could he actually admit

it, favorite NCIS agent? It was then that Ari noticed the Sig strapped to Kate's right hip. Ahh, thought Ari, so Caitlin Todd hadn't blown all of his expectations out of the water.

As Kate walked towards the small table where Ari sat, she felt a mixture of relief and apprehension. Relieved because she and the black-clad Mossad officer seemed to be the sole

patrons on the porch of the small cafe, but nervous for the very same reason. As much of a bastard as Kate thought Ari was, she had to admit, if only grudgingly that the man had good

taste in restaurants.

Kupin Khavia was a small Finnish café tucked away on the second floor of a three story building shared by a law firm on the first floor and an insurance office on the third. The café was

modest, but it was cozy and boasted the best pirrakkaa's on the East Coast besides. Plus, the coffee could've surpassed even Gibbs' rigorous standards. The café had several tables

inside, but as Kate felt the cool nighttime air on her shoulders, she was glad that Ari had chosen the outside porch for their clandestine rendezvous.

As Kate approached the table, Ari rose from his birch-wood chair. He walked around the table, also made of birch, and held out Kate's chair for her, pushing the chair ever so slightly

towards the table when Kate was properly seated. Ari resumed his seat across the table from Kate and for several moments, or maybe minutes, the two contemplated each other in

silence.

Their quiet interlude was broken by the appearance of a bright-faced, blonde-haired waitress right beside their table. In a heavy, but not unpleasant accent the waitress inquired,

"A drink you will be having tonight, yes?"

Ari turned his face to look at the waitress, his face breaking into a rare genuine smile as he answered, "Kyllä. Ottaisimme kupin teetä ja…" at that point Ari turned his gaze towards Kate,

his eyebrows raised in inquiry. Kate responded with a quiet, "just a cup of coffee for me, black please."

Ari turned back towards the waitress and continued the order, "…kupin khavia, musta."

The waitress, with a bright smile illuminating her face, quickly scribbled the order down on her green paper pad, and with a quick nod of her head, she was off to fetch the two drinks. Ari

watched the waitress as she scurried back into the indoors portion of the café and when she was out of sight he slowly turned to meet Kate's inquisitive gaze.

Suddenly, Kate spoke, "What language were you just speaking?"

Ari's grin stretched out even wider as his laughing eyes gazed momentarily at the wooden table. "Finnish" he responded.

He continued, "And before you ask, it was an eight month assignment in Helsinki. I discovered this café when I came to Washington after my mission was complete. Upon the conclusion

of my assignment in Finland I found that I had become quite accustomed to the tastes I had acquired there."

Kate simply sat there and listened, truly interested in Ari's travels, and only when he had paused in his little speech did she venture the shy comment, "I've always wanted to visit

Helsinki." Kate's eyes gazed at the table as she spoke and her right hand supported her head as it rested along the right side of her neck, her elbow resting on the table. The lower part

of her other arm rested on top of the table.

Ari leaned forward in his seat. With his left index finger, he gently lifted Kate's chin so that her eyes met his. In this close proximity, Kate's pulse quickened, she was close enough to feel

the warm breath that Ari exhaled, and close enough to hear the words that he whispered next. "You should go in the winter; the snow is dazzling in December."

Kate felt as if she would faint, smelling the scent from Ari's throat every time she inhaled, struggling to escape the warm, brown gaze that pinned her to her chair. Luckily, their smiling

waitress showed up at that exact moment, looking a bit flustered as she realized the intimacy of the moment she had just interrupted. She quickly sat a cup of steaming, black coffee in

front of Kate, and an equally hot mug of tea in front of Ari. He momentarily released Kate from his stare to throw a quick, "Kiitos." towards the waitress.

Ari gazed back at Kate and slowly curled his index finger back, releasing her chin. He briefly looked down at his mug of tea before he picked it up and took a sip. The tea was strong,

exactly the way he liked it, and a bit scalding when it washed over his tongue. Ari resisted the urge to grimace and instead remembered a bit of advice someone had told him long ago,

that the best pleasures in life are made all the more worth the while by a small amount of pain. After a few more sips, Ari set down the mug.

Kate could feel Ari's eyes on her as she stared into her coffee cup and wondered why she was suddenly so shy. She wondered what it was about this tall, dark, handsome man that

made her reserve her words and avert her gaze. Perhaps it was the intensity of his presence. Kate didn't get a chance to continue her musings because at that moment, her practical self

made an appearance and reminded her that she still didn't know why the fiendishly hot Mossad officer had arranged their little rendezvous.

Kate looked up from her coffee cup to find Ari staring at her over the rim of his own mug as he sipped his tea. Kate bluntly posed the question,

"Ari, why did you want me to meet you here?"

Ari chuckled and responded, "Caitlin, can I not simply request the company of a lovely woman on this pleasant evening?" T

he glare that Kate shot Ari would've crumbled a mountain into a small pile of rocks.

Ari sighed, "No? Well, then I will tell you. I invited you here tonight to apologize for the events that took place this afternoon. I wished to compensate for any…unnecessary distress you

may have been caused."

Ari paused for a moment as his gaze flickered towards the three small stitches carefully sewn into Kate's lower lip.

Ari added, "By the way, how is your lip?"

Kate's mouth hung slightly open in surprise. Ari chuckled and with his trademark smirk, asked, "Am I still such a bastard, Caitlin?"

Kate regained control of her facial muscles and with a twinkle in her eye, she threw Ari's smirk right back him before she responded with, "Probably."

Ari threw his head back and laughed. When he recovered, he looked back at Kate, a full smile stretched across his features,

"Ahh, Caitlin, I knew there was a reason why I liked you."

Kate allowed herself a small chuckle as she looked into Ari's features, her wide smile matching the one currently occupying his countenance.

The ice had been broken. Kate and Ari sat at the table for at least another hour, ordering another round of steaming drinks in the process. They held a natural and easy conversation. Ari

talked about all the assignments that he'd been given by Mossad and about some of the consequently sticky situations that they had gotten him into. Kate talked about her time in the

Secret Service and about some of the more ridiculous circumstances that she'd dealt with while on the job. Kate enjoyed the subtle irony of Ari's wit and Ari took pleasure in Kate's dry

sense of humor. The pair laughed through the duration of their conversation, only pausing when they fell into a natural lull in their discourse.

Ari looked at the bottom of his now empty cup and sighed. He looked back up at Kate with a pursed smile and rose from his chair. Kate gazed up at his tall figure from her seated position

as Ari spoke, "Caitlin, I would like to thank you for a delightful evening and for your engaging conversation, but I'm afraid that a few affairs still require my presence tonight. Perhaps…we

will meet again."

At his last words, Kate saw the flicker of kindness in his eyes that had prevented her from stabbing him in autopsy.

Ari unhurriedly put his black jacket on and reached down to grab a motorcycle helmet that Kate hadn't even realized was sitting under the table. Ari began to walk towards the exit of the

café, but he paused by Kate's shoulder and leaned down, his mouth close to her ear. He halted for a moment, taking in her soft scent and feeling the warmth that radiated from her petite

form before he whispered, "Shalom, Caitlin."

Kate didn't see Ari as he descended the stairs that connected the second- floor porch to the street below. She simply gazed at the wooden table top. She heard Ari's motorcycle fire up

but she missed the quick backwards glance that Ari threw in her direction as he sped down the darkened streets of D.C.

Kate sighed to herself, lost within her thoughts. She was suddenly broken from her musings when the bright-faced waitress took her coffee cup from the table. Kate's head snapped up

and she grabbed her wallet as she addressed the waitress,

"Will a twenty cover the bill?"

The waitress' face held a soft, knowing smile as she responded, "Don't worry, the gentleman was already paid for them."

The waitress took the coffee mugs back inside, humming merrily as she did so.

Kate looked down at the darkened street and chuckled. Maybe he wasn't such a bastard after all.

Author's Note: Take the Kate/Ari interaction for what you will. As for why Mossad would send an agent to Helsinki for eight months? Well, I have no clue, you'll have to ask them, but be

warned, if they tell you, they might have to kill you! BTW, all of the Finnish is accurate to my knowledge, the name of the café means, "A Cup of Coffee", and when Ari orders, it's just the

basic "We'd like a cup of tea and…a cup of coffee". "Kiitos" means "Thank you" and is really fun to say, try it "Keee-tohs"…fine, just review, please!


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